What They Said: Ferguson says Moyes needs time, Gerrard on title-race

Manchester United’s legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson urged the fans in his farewell speech to show strong support to the new manager. The fans have done exactly that until now, with a wave of frustration hitting the spine of every Old Trafford faithful.

And why not? People predicted that filling the boots of Ferguson would be a difficult task, but certainly no one thought that it would get this bad. From being the champions of England, they’ve somewhat become a joke this season. Out of all domestic competitions, their chances of progressing in Europe also hang in balance, while finishing in the top four also looks a Herculean task – no wonder the fans are running out of patience.

However, the man who is thought to have played a large role in appointing him, still believes that David Moyes is the right man for the job. Despite the difficult start to the season, Ferguson is hopeful that Moyes will be a success at Old Trafford,

“They [Manchester United] will be all right,” said Ferguson, as quoted by The Guardian. “It’s early days and there have been a lot of changes.

“He needs time. I was there for 27 years, so with a new manager it takes time. But they’ll be OK.”

Steven Gerrard certainly knows that post 2008/09, this represents his best chance of claiming the only trophy that has eluded him during his illustrious career.

Now 33 and approaching the end of his career, the Liverpool skipper maintains hope of finally getting his hands on the trophy. The talisman skipper feels that the club’s position as underdogs will help them put pressure on their fellow title challengers.

“I think it’s very nice that people are talking about us and we are in the title race,” he said as quoted in The Times. “There’s no getting away from that.

“We’re in it, but it’s important that we stay calm, keep taking it game by game and try to win as many as we can.

“Manchester City and Chelsea are still the favourites, if you like, because they’ve got that experience of going on to win it.”

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has maintained that Liverpool have a certain advantage in the title-race as they don’t have any European distractions this season.